Quarterly Progress Report: Action against Corruption and Impunity

The activity aims to improve transparency and reduce impunity in Honduras by reinforcing CNA internal capacity and its ability to work jointly with government institutions on corruption prevention, detection, investigation, and litigation. The activity is framed in Development Objective #3 of the USAID/Honduras Strategic Framework, which seeks to achieve more transparent public administration at the national level with accountability. The program's objective is to contribute to national efforts to improve transparency and reduce impunity in Honduras by enhancing CNA's organizational effectiveness, technical competence, and external commitment. During the third quarter of 2018 (January to March), the activity focused on implementing the work plan for each result by carrying out actions to strengthen accounting and administrative processes, holding accountability events, reviewing processes in coordination with government institutions, clarifying the definition of indicators and instruments for information collection, and other actions. The Honduran socio-political context during the period was marked by significant events, including the assumption of the presidency by Juan Orlando Hernández, the general elections in November 2017, and the subsequent appeal for the annulment of the election results. The government's commitment to areas such as employment, social development, human rights, education, and health was renewed, and the Regional Office for South America of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights called for a national participative dialogue to promote development, human rights, and reconciliation. The "Pact for Impunity" reform to the Law for the General Budget of Income and Expenditures of the Republic was approved by the National Congress, which was denounced by the Mission in Support Against Corruption and Impunity (MACCIH) and the CNA. The reform obligates transferring investigations to the Superior Accounts Tribunal, which now has a period of up to three years to finalize investigations. The justice tribunals decided to file cases against five ex-congressmen accused of corruption and delivered eleven documents to the Superior Accounts Tribunal. The CNA issued a statement to the Honduran population and the international community stating that these actions contribute to the debilitation of governance in the country. The former first lady was accused of corruption and was taken to a hearing for a declaration of the accused, where she was ordered to be held and transferred to the Women's National Penitentiary for Social Adaptation. The anti-corruption judge hearing the case dictated a formal indictment, which implies that the accused must continue to be imprisoned for a period of 60 days to hold a preliminary hearing. The project to reform the "Law for the definitive deprivation of the dominion of goods of illicit origin" was submitted by a congressman from the Honduran Patriotic Alliance, which would lead to stopping actions implemented by the Public Ministry in the struggle against corruption and impunity. The CNA issued a press release arguing that this reform contributes to limiting actions geared towards the frontal struggle against corruption. The process to initiate the search for the successor of the current Attorney General of the Republic is already underway, and Honduras is facing the challenge of guaranteeing transparency in the selection of the attorney general and his deputy, who are figures of vital importance in the struggle against crime and corruption in the country. The forum for the launching of the space for Citizens against Corruption was formed by civil society organizations and private citizens committed to transparency in the country, seeking to place a common agenda of interests in the public debate and oriented towards closing the spaces for impunity.